Yes, they do as far as I know. And those ones have the Stingray classic bridge mute adjustments and metal battery cover on the standard body shape. And the hardware looks a little off. Made in china alarms bells.

Last edited by benhill1982 on 29 Jan 2018, 14:05, edited 1 time in total.

Yes, they do as far as I know. And those ones have the Stingray classic bridge mute adjustments and metal battery cover on the standard body shape. And the hardware looks a little off. Made in china alarms bells.

I was about to say there are made in Japan versions, but have been beaten to it. Seems to be quite a variety of them made, with configurations that weren't available from the US ones. My understanding is that all hardware and electronics are made in the US and exactly the same as they use. I would assume the necks and bodies are MIJ, but have heard they were imported and it's only the assembly that's done in Japan. I assume like all high end Japanese built instruments, they're at least as good as the US versions.

I was about to say there are made in Japan versions, but have been beaten to it. Seems to be quite a variety of them made, with configurations that weren't available from the US ones. My understanding is that all hardware and electronics are made in the US and exactly the same as they use. I would assume the necks and bodies are MIJ, but have heard they were imported and it's only the assembly that's done in Japan. I assume like all high end Japanese built instruments, they're at least as good as the US versions.

I was going to say they look really great from what I can tell from the pics compared to Stingrays I've owned, not to mention the really cheesy looking chinese made knock-offs.

I was about to say there are made in Japan versions, but have been beaten to it. Seems to be quite a variety of them made, with configurations that weren't available from the US ones. My understanding is that all hardware and electronics are made in the US and exactly the same as they use. I would assume the necks and bodies are MIJ, but have heard they were imported and it's only the assembly that's done in Japan. I assume like all high end Japanese built instruments, they're at least as good as the US versions.

I was going to say they look really great from what I can tell from the pics compared to Stingrays I've owned, not to mention the really cheesy looking chinese made knock-offs.

Ernie Ball have been very careful in not allowing too many replacements parts, which means it's much harder to counterfeit them. The knock offs I've seen (and the cheaper licensed version), use generic looking parts, which makes it easier to spot a fake.

Used Stingray prices seem to vary enormously. When I was looking at Stingrays last year, I saw sellers asking between AU$900 and AU$1800 for the Japanese ones. All from Japan sellers. Most were asking around AU$1200-1400. The few I saw locally, weren't forthcoming about them being Japanese and asking US prices.

Interestingly, they made some vintage spec versions, with 2 band eq, 3 bolt neck and string through bridges with mutes. Not having the Made in California decal on the back of the headstock, makes them hard to differentiate from the pre-Ernie Ball versions.